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Microplastics induce immune suppression via S100A8 downregulation
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Researchers found that microplastics in drinking water significantly suppressed immune function in mice by reducing spleen weight and CD8 T cells, with proteomics revealing that downregulation of the S100A8 protein was a key mechanism driving the immune impairment.
Microplastic (MP) pollution has been largely reported in the daily consumption of water and food, however, the toxicities of MPs to human beings remain largely uncovered. We found that MPs in drinking water significantly impaired mouse immune function by reducing spleen weight, CD8 T cell amount and raising CD4 to CD8 T cell ratio. We performed proteomics and phosphoproteomics by LC-MS/MS and found MPs significantly induced 130 and 57 proteins upregulated in proteome and phosphoproteome, and 191 and 37 proteins downregulated in proteome and phosphoproteome, separately. Bioinformatic analysis show that asthma, mineral absorption, and the IL-17 signaling pathway were significantly enriched and may be involved in MP-induced spleen damage and immune suppression. We verified the top 3 differentially expressed proteins and phosphoproteins by western blot, and we further showed that S100A8 was significantly downregulated by MPs via histochemistry staining. Our results revealed that MPs can induce spleen damage and immune suppression by reducing S100A8 expression, suggesting an underestimated influence and mechanism of MPs on the mammalian immune system.
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Mice exposed to polyethylene microplastics showed a weakened immune response when challenged with bacterial toxins, with lower levels of immune signaling molecules and reduced immune cell activity. The microplastics disrupted proteins in the extracellular matrix, the structural framework around cells in the liver and spleen, which impaired immune signaling. This suggests that microplastic accumulation in organs could make the body less effective at fighting infections.
Polystyrene Nanoplastics Disrupt Immune Cell Development and Suppress T Cell Activation via mTOR and ERK Signaling
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Scientists gave young mice water containing tiny plastic particles (nanoplastics) for three weeks and found it disrupted their immune systems, shrinking immune cell numbers in the spleen and throwing off the balance of key immune cells that fight infections. It also weakened T cells, the immune system's frontline defenders, by interfering with internal cell signals they need to activate. While this study was done in mice, it raises real concerns about what the microplastics we're increasingly exposed to through food, water, and air might be doing to our own immune defenses.
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